Our beach house has limited space and no stand-alone room to spare for a home tiki bar. So, I entered a plea deal with the spousal unit: in return for letting me replace the dining area table with a tiki bar, I agreed to remodel the adjoining kitchen.

After giving away the dining table and demolishing the small breakfast bar which inconveniently seated a couple of folks directly in front of refrigerator doors, I created an L-shaped bar from base kitchen cabinets with space and an electrical receptacle for an under-counter wine cooler. The base cabinets (34.5”H x 24”D) were tied together with ¾” plywood sheets screwed into their back sides, forming the unfinished bar face. Taking a tip from DJKen in his TC post of last year, I obtained bronzed faux bamboo panels and molding from Texture Plus via their online web site (www.textureplus.com). These were then applied to the face of the bar using construction adhesive and a brad nail gun.

The bar counter top is engineered quartz (Silestone), professionally cut and installed as a concession to the spousal unit (aka “she who must be obeyed”) who insisted on easy cleanup and no-maintenance durability.

Next, a tiki bar overhead shelf unit was constructed of plywood finished with bronzed faux bamboo panels and molding, supported from the counter top by 24”H TikiBosko custom carved redwood poles. The overhead shelves on the bar face provide space to display tiki mugs and the like, while overhead shelves behind the bar accommodate storage of spirits and glassware.

A polished brass bar foot rail ordered from KegWorks (www.kegworks.com) was assembled, cut to length and attached to the bar face using screws.

Thank you for the appreciative comments, MustangScott and leleliz... we're sure enjoying sitting at the bar looking out at the ocean dreaming of far-away places channeled, of course, by tiki spirits of the liquid kind.

leleliz, the bar stools are certainly slender limbed and do appear delicate until you handle them or sit in them. They are actually heavy gage metal painted to look like bamboo, with metal rings welded to the legs and chair back at the simulated bamboo joints. They are commercially available as "Hillsdale 26-in. West Palm Swivel Counter Stool - Burnished Brown" from www.barstools.com. The seats are well padded and they swivel, but do not sway or give when seating even large-bodied tiki tipsters. We got a good deal on them, free shipping and heavily discounted so that the sixth bar stool was in effect free.

Big Kahuna, the Tiki Tom graphic is a personal logo dreamed up and created by that Wildsville artiste, Derek Yaniger. Writeup and graphic are included near the end of Derek's news blog of March 22, 2010 entitled "Peep the Poop!" at http://derekart.com/news/?paged=2 (you have to scroll down a bit).

jokeiii, sorry but I was so busy with rushing to the end state with my limited vacation and holiday time that I skipped the in-progress photographic recording. However, I'd be glad to answer any particular questions about the construction. I created a layout drawing and bar profile before starting this to see how it would fit, including height from the sloping white beadboard cathedral ceiling.

The biggest challenge was the tiki bar overhead shelf unit, custom constructed as four subassemblies in order to fit through doorways and stairway, allow attachment to the tiki top poles and not be too heavy to handle.

The bottom L-shaped plate or base of 3/4" plywood with laminate finish surface (underneath side) was first, with screws and adhesive securing it to the supporting countertop tiki poles. The six tiki poles were secured to the quartz countertop with construction adhesive. Next the entire L-shaped inside shelving was assembled as one unit with plywood and stringers, with outside face that lipped over the base plate to be flush with the bottom. Note that the height of each horizontal shelf base was sized to be covered by the 3-1/2" width of the faux bamboo molding. It took three of us to lift and position the inside shelf unit over the base plate.

Each leg of the L-shaped outside shelf was then assembled as a separate unit, and each was hauled up and positioned on the base plate. All three shelf assemblies were aligned atop the base plate, then screwed together and to the base plate. Next, the faux bamboo panels and molding were applied using construction adhesive and brad nail gun to create the finished surface. The bottom and top surfaces of each shelf were finished with laminate (Formica in wild cherry color pattern) to provide a smooth surface and blend with the color of the bronzed faux bamboo.

Nice job! I've always liked corner bars. Gives people the chance to sit at the bar and still look at each other while talking. The Bosko support posts give it that much needed tiki infusion. Now, get to work on those white walls and ceiling.

Thanks for the feedback, GatorRob... any suggestions for the walls and ceiling? I'm a bit constrained by sharing space with the adjoining kitchen and great room, so the spousal unit exercises a deciding vote, though she is tiki-appreciative (at least she continues to be pretty accommodating).

Very nicely done...sure blends in well with the existing kitchen. Gorgeous cabinets, countertop and stools. I love the name of the bar and it must be great to look out into the distance at the ocean while enjoying a cocktail.
_________________ "Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

Ahh, it’s great to have a tiki neighbor, McTiki, presumably on Merritt Island… alas, as you well know, Titusville is no Tikiville, at least not since the halcyon days of the Moon Islander. It is currently our commuter pad to work at the nearby rocket ranch, but we “live” at our beach home 70 miles up the coast, featured in this forum topic. Consider that in 1881 Titusville’s founding father, Col. Henry T. Titus, a gentleman of mysterious past, wrote that "Titusville is the grand center of all trade and will so continue to be. Her motto is to live and let live." Four days after his words appeared in print, he died, according to the local historical society. That about sums up the Titusville experience.

Tom, fantastic job and well done. Looks very inviting. A mai tai always taste better in a bamboo environment I think. You say you work at the "rocket ranch"? I grew in Ft. Myers on the other coast of Fla. On a clear day I could see the shuttle launches from way over there. I still miss that. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing the pics. The bar looks great.
_________________"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

TikiTomD: Good work on the digs. And you'll find that Brevard has a more hopping tiki scene than you would think. Away from T-ville, of course, but everything is away from Hooterville. Be on the lookout for our annual Pre-Hukilau get-together at The Storm Shelter (my home bar) in Rockledge. You can check it out at http://www.tornadotiki.com/ and we also have a Brevard Tiki group on Facebook.